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Chatham, city sales tax dispute heading to court

Despite hiring a mediator to try to resolve the dispute, Chatham County and eight municipalities in the county were unable to reach an agreement on how an estimated $600 million in sales tax revenue should be distributed, and the decision will now have to be made by a superior court judge.

The 60 days set aside for mediation ended Friday without resolution, even after Norman Fletcher, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, was brought in for a day of negotiating.

State law now requires a petition be filed in superior court in order for a decision to be made. Following the filing, both sides will submit a final offer specifying how the tax proceeds should be distributed. The judge must then select one of the submitted proposals.

County Commission Chairman Pete Liakakis said Thursday the county intends to submit a request for a judge to resolve the matter. The county may amend their original proposal, based on the discussions they had during mediation, Liakakis said.

“Hopefully, this can be positive for the county and positive for the city,” he said. “There is a possibility for that.”

Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson, citing a mediation agreement she signed, which included a clause that all proceedings be kept confidential, referred inquiries about the tax dispute to Savannah City Attorney Brooks Stillwell.

Stillwell said late Thursday afternoon the city had sent a proposal to the county and was awaiting a response, but he did not wish to comment further. The cities’ proposal was confidential under the terms of the mediation agreement, which was signed by county officials also, Stillwell said.

The sales tax negotiations are required within two years of every 10-year census to determine the distributions for the county, Savannah, Bloomingdale, Garden City, Pooler, Port Wentworth, Thunderbolt, Tybee Island and Vernonburg.

Prior to the mediation period, the county and cities had 60 days to negotiate an agreement on their own. They failed to reach a consensus after the county pulled out of two-party discussions in early July, a month before the negotiating period’s deadline, saying each government’s positions were too far apart to reconcile on their own.

Under the formula presented by the county, the cities would lose 24 percent to 77 percent of sales tax revenue, while Chatham’s share would increase 211 percent. The distribution proposal submitted by the municipalities would cut the county’s portion by about 38 percent.

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, Okinawa, Japan — Marine Corps Captain James E. Frederick, who ejected from a Marine F/A-18 on Dec. 7, was pronounced dead after his body was found during search and rescue operations.